Catherine Hibbits

Catherine Hibbits

Catherine Hibbits was born in Sarnia, Ontario in 1974. She has lived all across Canada. After studying sciences at Acadia University, Catherine worked as a microbiology lab technician. Catherine's love of the arts took her to Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, where she studied furniture design and glass blowing. Captivated by the fluid properties of glass, she focused her attention to this art form. The majority of Catherine's work explores the social condition; her imagery has a strong and deliberate narrative and she produces pieces that are both beautful and thought provoking. Her work goes beyond surface decoration creating a sense of delicacy, mimicking forms in nature. Each body of work portrays a quality of place as she is inspired by her travels which includes living and teaching in New Zealand in 2000.

The Journey Series Vessels were inspired during my travels to New Zealand. I spent much time there people watching in the small town of Wanganui. It was very similar to people watching in Canada, but in a few ways it differed. New Zealand's population is small and isolated, reflected heavily in the overall economy. The strange thing is, I could see this burden on the people spoken in their body language. It is this unspoken language that figures on my vessels are meant to portray. Not meant to appear hopeless, rather these figures are optimistic for the future, and content as they deal with the hand life has dealt them.